Zoe Ann (佐伊安)...a journey home from China!: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZoe

T-Minus 4, T-Minus 3...and the count down begins. Sonja has less than two weeks left before her FMLA leave of absence expires and will be returning to work. Sonja and Zoe have really bonded, last night Sonja snuck out about 8:00 pm to pick Nathaniel up from wwrestling camp and about 40 minutes later Zoe was asking where "Mommy" was, when I said she was out she looked around the house and then looked out the window when it dawned on Zoe that Mommy was away from the house. You could tell Zoe was upset as she started to get upset and then Ne Hao Kailen (a cartoon) came on and Zoe was fine.

Sonja is currently looking for daycare. She is looking at both in-home and center day care providers. She has talked to a number of different providers and trying to determine which one Zoe would be most comfortable in. So I assume she will make a decision shortly.

Last weekend we took Zoe to a Holt International (our adoption agency) picnic. They had a number of activities which included face painting, balloon blowing shapes upon request and a bounce house. They also had a Korean food as part of the picnic. It was organized well and low key. They were a large number of adoptive parents with children from a number of countries including but not limited to Korea, China, Ethiopia, etc. Although it took a little coaxing, we were able to convince Zoe to go into the bounce house. Once she got in there she had a lot of fun bouncing around with the other kids.

Zoe transition continues to go well. We have had no problems with her diet. She loves fish sticks, spaghetti, hot dogs, mac-n-cheez, and has a sweet tooth. She loves M&M's! She continues to pick up a new word here and there and he pronunciation continues to improve. Although it took her a while, she now calls her self "Yoe" and "ZZZZZZZZoe". So she is finally able to sound out the letter Z which has been difficult for her. Our only real challenge at this time is when she goes to sleep. Almost every night she wakes up somewhere between 3:00-5:30. When she wakes up she cries. If we hear it we come up and comfort her and she will often times go back to bed relatively quickly, however poor Nathaniel. His room is next door so when she wakes he does as well. So, hopefully, she will get more comfortable. I'm no expert but I am guessing she gets scared when she wakes up in her room. I am assuming she slept with a number of children when she lived in China so it must be scary and very lonely.

Next week we are going to take her to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. It should be fun, they have a large children's area which includes rides for children, place to climb and a arts and crafts area. Should be fun to watch her as she takes it all in. My biggest fear is how hot it's going to be...if it is anything like Nebraska we should expect some pretty hot days! Anyhow, all is well for now. Nathaniel finishes his wrestling camp this week and goes to a baseball camp next week. He has gone to this camp the last three years and has a great time with kids form the south and mid-west. He knows many of them now so he looks forward to catching up with them.

Finally, I wanted to "THANK" Joni Wheeler and family for the nice books and his Aunt Nicole and Uncle Mike and family for the nice dress. She looks great in the dress and it fits. Nathaniel loves the Texas Longhorns Jersey. Very thoughtful....we really appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Anyhow the is it for now...Thanks for dropping by and I will update you with some pictures when we come back from Silver Dollar City! Bye for now!